BrianSteenstry, James17, RobertR, Bigoji,

You might want to consider starting the anti-inflammatory regimen with 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3, Omega-3 Fish Oil, and the vitamin D3 cofactors: magnesium, zinc, boron, vitamin A (retinol), and vitamin K2.

Over the last 4 years, this regimen has proven effective for 83% of the CH’ers who start it.  To date, I estimate the number of CH’ers taking this regimen at 600.  I’ve also been running an online survey of CH’ers taking this regimen to prevent their CH.  The last data harvested from this survey indicated 83% of the 127 survey participants experienced a favorable response with a significant reduction in the frequency and severity of their CH from an average of 3 CH/day to 3 CH/week.  60 % of the survey participants experienced a lasting pain free response as long as they remain on this regimen.

I submitted an abstract reporting the results of this survey to the American Academy of Neurology in November of 2013.  They accepted it for publication and invited me to make a poster presentation at the 2014 AAN Annual meeting in Philadelphia, PA last April.  You can find the abstract printed in Neurology at the following link:

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The poster presentation was well received and I’ve had several neurologists get back to me saying they’ve suggested this regimen to their patients with CH and are seeing similar results.

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Dr. Todd Rozen, MD, shown on the left in the photo above, heads the Headache Center at Geisinger Healthcare, in Wilkes-Barra, PA, He dropped by my poster presentation and told me he’s been suggesting this regimen to his patients with CH.  He’s seeing the same success rate but wanted to know if I had any idea why the other 17% failed to respond.

I’ve been pain free since October of 2010 when I developed this regimen and started taking it.   However, when the spring pollen drop from the big Alder trees started creating dust storms of pollen that coated my black pickup turning it gray, I began experiencing a strong allergic reaction...  I also fell out of CH remission.

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Now you need to understand that as the vitamin D3 guru, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit the regimen that’s kept me pain free for over 4 years has failed to do so… 

I tried what I’ve told many others and that was to start loading doses of vitamin D3 up to 50,000 IU/day plus additional magnesium…  After a week of this, I’d lowered the frequency of my CH, but couldn’t stop them completely.  It was clear the flood of histamines from the allergic reaction was keeping vitamin D3, even at higher doses, from preventing my CH.

At that point the clue bird made a low pass and my good idea light came on bright and started flashing…  Treat the allergy!!!

I settled on Benadryl (diphenhydramine) as it passes through the blood brain barrier to block the histamine receptors in brain cells.  Benadryl doesn’t stop the flow of histamines, but it does block the allergic reaction and the resulting inflammation.

I started taking Benadryl as directed on the label at 25 mg 4 times a day, one tablet every 4 to 5 hours.  Within a matter of hours I experienced a marked reduction in allergy symptoms and by the next day I was again CH pain free.

Benadryl is a potent drug and it’s also a CNS depressant so don’t drive if you take it if at all possible.  If you do start a course of Benadryl try not to take it for more than a week at this dose.  If you do need to take it for longer than the first week, taper the dose.  I’m taking two a day.  I tried to stop after a week, but the CH came back so I’m on a taper until the pollen drop ends.

The time for an oral dose of Benadryl to reach a maximum serum concentration is around 3 hours and the half-life is 8 to 16 hours depending on age…  In other words, it lasts longer for senior citizens like me at 70 so two tablets a day are likely sufficient.

I added a 3-month course of vitamin B 50 to the anti-inflammatory regimen last year around this time at the recommendation of Dr. Stasha Gominak, MD, a neurologist in Tyler, TX.  She’s been treating her patients with sleep, chronic pain and headache disorder with a similar vitamin D3 regimen for over six years with results similar to the anti-inflammatory regimen.   

She noticed a strange phenomenon where some of her patients started falling out of remission after one to two years on her regimen.  The lab tests she usually ordered for her patients provided no indication why her patients were falling out of remission.  Then one of her patients called to say she had started taking vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and that the vitamin D3 regimen was again working just fine.

Dr. Gominak tested some of her other patients who had fallen out of remission and found deficiencies among the seven B vitamins.  Her solution was a shotgun approach with vitamin B 50 to address any deficiencies among the 7 B vitamins.  She also cautions not to take vitamin B 50 for more than three months as a few of her patients had taken it longer and reported the vitamin D3 had again stopped working.

The list of supplements and doses are shown in the following table.

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The simple way to get these nutrients is illustrated in the following photo of the supplements by brand that I buy at Costco with the exception of the Super K that I order over the Internet from iherb.com or amazon depending on the price.  One Mature Multi tablet has all the zinc, boron, vitamin A (retinol) called for in the table above.  It’s also formulated with the seven B vitamins so should be sufficient to prevent any deficiencies.  Magnesium is the most important cofactor as vitamin D3 consumes it rapidly at a dose of 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3.

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Vitamin K2 is important as it increases the flow of serum calcium away from soft tissues and arteries towards building bone mineral density.  Vitamin K2 has nothing to do with blood clotting so it can be taken safely by CH'ers also taking blood thinners.

The Super K that I take is made by the Life Extension Foundation.  It's a balanced formulation containing vitamin K1 and the vitamin K2 complex of menaquinones MK-4 and MK-7.  It's also easy to find formulations of just vitamin K2.

The vitamin B 50 and Benadryl are not shown.  I suggest starting the 3-month course of vitamin B 50 when you start this regimen.  The dosing instructions can be found on the first few pages of the following link:

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Most CH’ers respond to this regimen as shown in the following chart based on data from the online survey.

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As you can see, the majority of CH’ers respond within the first 10 days.  If you haven’t responded by then, start the 1-week course of Benadryl.  Many allergies are sub-clinical meaning no outward or obvious symptoms so you could be experiencing an allergic reaction and never know it except for the up-tic in CH frequency.

As always, keep your PCP and/or neurologist in the loop before starting the anti-inflammatory regimen.  It’s also a good idea to get the lab test for 25(OH)D if possible.

Don B, as you’re already past the 10 day mark with this regimen, I suggest checking with your PCP then start the Benadryl.

Hope this helps.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch